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Thursday, June 30, 2016

RIDERS SIGN JOSIAH ST. JOHN

Sue Agroki/Associated Press

REGINA — After a lengthy contract negotiation that lasted the entirety of training camp, it looks as though the Saskatchewan Roughriders have come to an agreement with offensive lineman Josiah St. John. The first overall pick in the CFL Draft was the favourite to headline the selection process last May but was unable to come to terms with the Riders until now, according to the Voice of the Roughriders Rod Pedersen.

Roughriders Assistant V.P. of Player Personnel revealed on 620 CKRM Radio that St. John had in fact signed with Saskatchewan on Wednesday. TSN's Gary Lawless later reported the deal is for three years.

The 6-foot-6, 309-pound tackle from Ajax, Ont. is a potential cornerstone for the Riders, a franchise taken over and rebuilt from the ground up by Chris Jones and his staff this off-season.

Highly touted for his size and ability to play tackle, something few other offensive linemen in the draft can offer, St. John was the fifth-ranked player on the April CFL Scouting Bureau rankings and the top-ranked offensive lineman.

After redshirting his first season at Oklahoma in 2013, St. John played in eight of 13 games his first season in 2014. In 2015 he played seven games and took over the starting right tackle spot on Sept. 12 at Tennessee.

A four-star recruit coming out of high school, he started the next three games for Oklahoma at tackle, increasing his stock as a high-ranked CFL prospect.